For months, Pam Schnittjer, Faye Petersen, and I have been slogging through years of main street history to produce a walking tour booklet in honor of West Liberty's 175 anniversary. This is an Aquarius Club project and we innocently volunteered early last fall--how hard could a little brochure be, right?
Little did we know that the city forefathers felt no compunction about changing address numbers when it suited, that buildings had been moved and even split, or that some businesses had changed names under the same owner and some stores retained the same name under several owners. All of this created a tangle worthy of a Greek myth, and all in a small four or five block area. For example, who would have thought that someone would drag a skating rink through the middle of a block and make it a furniture store?
But with Pam and Faye's expertise and me asking dumb questions, we have produced an 80-page booklet chock full of interesting tidbits about the transitions in a small town business district. It is available for sale at the West Liberty Depot and on line from Amazon. Proceeds go to community projects. Be sure and read the disclaimers at the beginning!
Little did we know that the city forefathers felt no compunction about changing address numbers when it suited, that buildings had been moved and even split, or that some businesses had changed names under the same owner and some stores retained the same name under several owners. All of this created a tangle worthy of a Greek myth, and all in a small four or five block area. For example, who would have thought that someone would drag a skating rink through the middle of a block and make it a furniture store?
But with Pam and Faye's expertise and me asking dumb questions, we have produced an 80-page booklet chock full of interesting tidbits about the transitions in a small town business district. It is available for sale at the West Liberty Depot and on line from Amazon. Proceeds go to community projects. Be sure and read the disclaimers at the beginning!
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